Models Lured Women to Wall Street Sex Dungeon:
Lawsuit

Three women have accused Wall Street bigwig
Howard Rubin of raping and beating them in his private dungeon—after
luring them via models who vouched for him as a ‘good guy.’

11.03.17 7:30 PM ET

The man best
known for losing more money on Wall Street than anyone else
before the 1987 stock market crash stands to lose $27 million more
and what’s left of his reputation, if a federal court believes the
allegations in an explosive new lawsuit filed against him and a
gaggle of so-called conspirators in Brooklyn federal court on
Thursday.

In the complaint, three Florida women, filing under pseudonyms,
have accused 62-year-old Howard Rubin of leading an organized
human-trafficking ring in which he allegedly employed women to lure
models to his $8 million Manhattan Penthouse under the guise of a
photoshoot or companionship. Once there, the women claim, he led them
into a sex-dungeon where he subjected them to sexual assault, rape,
false imprisonment, and beatings so severe they would lose
consciousness and one had to undergo reconstructive surgery to repair
her breasts.

Stephanie Shon, a 29-year-old former model and current account
manager for a legal support services company, would reach out to
bikini models and exotic dancers on Instagram and say something to
the effect of, “My boss wants to meet you.” Shon then allegedly
offered the the women $2,000—no strings attached—to fly to New
York and meet with Rubin in his Manhattan apartment. If Rubin “liked
her,” they might take some naughty photos, but nothing too extreme,
and he would pay her an additional $3,000. Rubin just liked hanging
out with Playboy models, Shon said.

If Shon, a leggy, honey blonde in her photos on social media (she
deleted her accounts this morning) couldn’t seal the deal, then
Jennifer Powers, a former Hawaiian Tropic model who had once dated
Rubin and was now in his employ, would follow up with messages
assuring them that he was “a great guy,” and that the trip “would
not be about sex,” according to the complaint.

The plaintiffs in this case say that they agreed to meet Rubin at
his 57th Street high-rise, in an apartment decorated with photos of
Rubin and Playboy Playmates. Before they could meet the retired fund
manager, they were told they’d have to sign non-disclosure
agreements. And so they did.

When they returned to the apartment after a pleasant if uneventful
dinner, a door that had been locked previously was now ajar. The
room, later referred to in the complaint as “the dungeon,” had
white carpet and red walls. The room was filled with ropes and
chains, face masks with zippers, metal hooks and various sex toys,
and a large x-shaped machine.

According to the women’s complaint, what happened in that room
over the next hour was non-consensual. They say they were restrained
against their will, beaten—with Rubin’s fist and various
objects—and raped. Rubin then allegedly left, walking to the
apartment he shares with his wife, with whom he has three children.

The complaint goes on to tell the story of several more terrifying
encounters in Rubin’s apartment—some involving the same women
from the first incident (it is unclear why they continued to visit
Rubin). Allegations against Rubin include that he gagged, punched,
and in one instance used a cattle prod to rape the women he hired.
During another session, he is accused of beating a woman’s breast
so badly that her implant “flipped,” exposing the closure and
requiring reconstructive surgery—which Rubin later allegedly paid,
through Powers.

Rubin, Powers, and Shon did not return requests for comment.
Reached by email, Rubin’s lawyer Yifat Schnur (who is also named as
a defendant for allegedly crafting the NDAs and trying to silence the
women after the fact) replied with a statement that read in part,
“Mr. Rubin denies all of the fabricated allegations made by
Plaintiffs. Plaintiffs’ complaint is part of an elaborate attempt
to extort my client. We have contacted all appropriate law
enforcement agencies including the Federal Bureau of Investigation.”
Schnur further alleged that another individual had been “arrested
and charged” in the so-called extortion scheme, but would not
elaborate.

The women’s lawyer John G. Balestriere, also responded in an
email saying his team welcomed the involvement of law enforcement, as
his clients “not only have significant civil claims but are victims
of crimes.”

Further, he wrote, “Schnur’s statement that this is
extortionist is nonsensical: all defendants’ names are now public
since we have filed. How can we possibly extort anyone?”

Rubin, a Las Vegas card-counter and Harvard graduate who was
featured in Michael
Lewis’ bestsellers Liar’s Poker and The Big
Short, was fired as the head mortgage trader at Merrill Lynch in
1987 after his unauthorized trades were blamed at least in part, for
the loss of $377 million of the firm’s money.

According to the lawsuit, this most recent scheme has “caused
many millions of dollars in damages to dozens of women over the
years.”